Isn't Everyone?

[SharkyTGirl185]

Meggy sucks in her lips, releasing a giggle from Heather’s remarks. She usually didn’t like these types of come backs. Kill them with kindness, be the bigger person and stuff. But frankly, these people came to them first and began to be mean, so they deserve to be at the butt of some mean jokes. Meggy wasn’t good at insults but she sure as hell was gonna try.

She picked up stack the fliers, turning back to them and giggling a bit “Oh Heather, don’t be like that, it ain’t Marcy’s fault she has to flirt with others to get Finn’s attention. Maybe Finn’s just gotta be a better boyfriend.”

[ViolentMedic]

When Marcy fake swooned into him, Finn wrapped his free arm around her and gave her a somewhat sarcastic pat on the shoulder, as if to reassure her about the terrible decisions Heather had decided she’d made.

“Hey, Heather.” Finn raised the burger slightly in greeting.

Heather’s sass didn’t bug him. Finn was not an experienced flirt. But he didn’t think barbed comments had counted as flirting since they were five.

Still, Meghan’s comment made him wrinkle his nose slightly. Not because he thought it was true. Marcy was an open person – if she wasn’t satisfied, Finn would know about it. But because it came out of Meghan.

“Seriously, though.” He gestured at Meghan without looking at her, keeping his eyes trained on Heather. “...The wannabe cop? Really?”

His tone was similar to that found in parents saying ‘I’m not mad… just disappointed.’

[Fiori]

Oooh, hohohooo. Things were starting to get a little zesty.

There was the slightest hint of a twitch in Marcy's eyes, Meggy even going so far as earning a disparaging glare from her. She had an infamously short temper after all, especially whenever basic bitches started shittalking her Finn.

Still, she maintained her cool for now - She'd be a terrible fucking provocateur if she couldn't handle a little pushback.

"MMmm... And we're the fakes, apparently" she teased, letting out a scornful giggle as she turned to flash Finn a wink.

"Besides..." Marcy continued, returning her attention to Heather. She began to lean forward, head poking through the window as she rested her arm on the frame, glaring brazenly into Heather's eyes with a smug sneer of her very own. Like hell was she going to let this roided freakshow out-mog her.

"As if... Someone like you... Could ever compare to him" she whispers, slowly and deliberately, venom dripping from every word that escaped her lips. 

[Dr Adjective]

No flinching now. If Heather could square up to the likes of Claude and Lily in the ring without blinking, she could handle some spicy banter with a cheerleader. She leaned in even closer, eyes locked on Marcy’s, almost as if she meant to go in for a kiss.

“Wanna find out?” she breathed, inches from the cheerleader’s own lips.

She let the tension simmer for a beat, before near-whispering again.

“Mine’s bigger, and it doesn’t go soft.”

Another beat, as Heather fought to keep her composure, the beginnings of a smile clearly pulling at her cheeks. She failed, straightening up and stepping back as the serious facade cracked into snorting laughter.

“I gave the girl a fuckin’ lift, fuck me, get your minds out of the gutter you two.”

Heather turned her gaze over to Meggy to confirm.

“Unless that’s what you had in mind for thanking me?”

[SharkyTGirl185]

Meggy’s eyes widened a bit and cracked her own smile, giggling “Hey, buy me dinner first Heather! I’m a classy gal!”

A slight blush came from her face, tucking her hair back before laughing a bit “But yes, she just gave me a lift! And you two seem to have little in the way of hobbies if you’re just harassing two girls like this. Kinda feel sad. Almost depressing.”

[ViolentMedic]

When Heather got that close to his girlfriend, Finn squinted and his gaze shifted from stare to glare. The sass hadn’t bothered him. This, though… his arm tightened around Marcy.

“See a doctor about that.”

He attempted to pull Marcy back from the window… though with little success. So after failing, he breathed sharply through his nose and shifted closer instead so he could stare better at the two. But, after a brief frown at Heather, he turned his attention to Meghan.

“Cops aren’t people. I count one girl and one aspiring piece of shit.” Finn turned back to Heather. “What are the fliers for? Blue Lives Matter?”

[Fiori]

Marcy didn't flinch as Heather leant in. Eyes narrowing, refusing to budge even as those lips inched dangerously close to her own.

She wasn't super pumped about how far they were taking this game of gay chicken, knowing that Heather's dice were loaded. It wasn't like she was repulsed or anything, she just wasn't all that keen on getting smooched by anyone other than her boyfriend, especially Heather of all people. Nevertheless she resisted Finn's attempts to pull her away, refusing to be the one who backed down first - like hell was she going to let herself get intimidated by her.

In the end it was Heather who relented first, Marcy tilting her head with a smirk as she similarly pulled back. Only then did she let Finn tug her in close, hand resting gently on his thigh to quietly reassure him. To Heather's credit, her game was... Decent. But even if she wasn't straight, it'd take a helluva lot more than some big lady muscles to make Marcy forget about her beloved.

Still, she couldn't help but raise her brow when Heather denied that she and Meggy were a thing, before immediately hitting on her. "Aaah-huh..."

She rolled her eyes at Meggy's contribution. Honestly, Meggy being a little piglet aside, Marcy didn't really have anything against her personally. She was just kind of mid, y'know? So hearing her trying to act all mature and shit was grating, to say the least.

Heh. Blue Lives Matter...

[Dr Adjective]

Heather rolled her eyes. At Finn apparently not knowing what a dildo was, or at Meggy trying to pivot to sanctimonious? Why not both? At least she could respect Marcy holding her nerve.

“Don’t read the news?” the blonde enquired rhetorically, only then stopping to pick up the flier her opposition had flicked away with their wipers.

“Cops, real people, turns out fire is an enemy we got in common.”

She tossed the rumpled paper in through the window. Red on black, bold, eye-catching, definitively not blue. Mutual aid for Los Angeles. It was only by good fortune and hard work that the wildfires seemed to have stopped short of Santa Monica, at least for now, but knowing that her dad was safe didn’t do much to dampen Heather’s enthusiasm to help however she could.

“Hell, since November, I think we’ve got a pretty important enemy in common.”

Heather canted her head in Meggy’s direction, giving an expression intended to communicate her mixed feelings on the subject. Sure she was cute, in both senses, but that only went so far in alleviating the discomfort inherent to an anarchist trying to reach out to a police apologist.

Then again, would she have had much other common cause with the average soldier fighting the Confederates, or the Nazis? Fuck it, as the irony poisoned commenters might say, one struggle.

“Gotta try.”

[SharkyTGirl185]

Oh wow, once again another "cops are assholes" insult her way. Swing and a miss.

Meggy rolled her eyes at the insult Finn did. She averted her gaze at Heather's expression, giving a sigh as she adjusted the stack of papers in her hands.

"Come on, Heather, it ain't worth, yer preaching to the choir with these folks. We have better things to do with our time on Earth, like spreading the good word." She said with much more cheer in her voice, deciding the best course of action is to ignore the delinquents.

[ViolentMedic]

Once Marcy allowed herself to be pulled back, Finn’s scowl lessened. He didn’t have anything to worry about. Not really.

Heather had made a distinction when she spoke between cops and real people. Maybe she wasn’t a lost cause.

Finn stuck the remainder of the burger into his mouth, chewing as he picked up and examined the flier. Yeah. Mutual aid stuff. Not like he could argue with that.

“Alright.”

Rather than tossing it out this time, he folded it up – flattening some of the rumples out of it in the process - and tucked it in the glove compartment. Wouldn’t hurt to stick it up somewhere else in town. Maybe near the car meet.

At the cop’s attempts to get back on her high horse, Finn rolled his eyes as well.

“Yeah, was thinking near the same thing,” he muttered, as he rested his chin on Marcy’s shoulder.

[Fiori]

Marcy looked down at the leaflet with a pout, brows furrowing as she read it over.

Alas, it wasn't anything she could really use as ammunition. Just more awareness about the Californian wildfires. Weren't those, like, an annual thing at this point? Did a gender reveal party cause this one too?

She couldn't help but wonder how her father was coping, picturing him slumped to his knees as everything he ever held dear burnt to the ground before his very eyes. The thought alone almost brought a smile to her face.

"I guess" she replied, somewhat half-heartedly. She didn't exactly disagree with the sentiment, but...

Well. How best to put it? It was kinda like applying a bandaid to a gunshot: Well intentioned, but ultimately futile. All these things - the wildfires, the rise of nationalism, the growing inevitability of climate-induced oblivion - were symptoms of an incurable disease. The world was entering a death spiral, and there was nothing any of them could do about it. The few people who could make a difference weren't gonna lift a finger, and no amount of fliers or protests was ever going to change that.

Humanity was fucked. Beyond fucked. So why bother fighting fate, when you could shrug your shoulders and make the most of what little time you have left on the clock?

But, that was enough doomthink for one day. She nuzzled her cheek against Finn's before removing her seat belt, reaching out to open the car door. "I suppose we better not keep coach waiting"

She exited the car with a spring to her step, offering the odd couple a sarcastic wave fairwell. "Toodles! Enjoy spreading the good word~"

[Dr Adjective]

Well. They seemed a little deflated. Turned out just explaining her situation could work, at least sometimes. Perhaps not with people less sympathetic, or at least allegedly sympathetic, to her pet causes, or not in situations as unambiguous as signal-boosting charity work, but still. Heather backed up and headed back to her bike as the less-odd couple exited the car, and shot Meggy a combination of pointed-look and pointed-finger.

"You're off the hook for the ride, but don't get used to it, got it?"

Strange to think, even with her father in danger, this time a year ago Heather might've had markedly less sympathy. Mostly rich neighbourhoods getting destroyed, the consequences of wealth's actions finally falling on wealth itself, she probably would've found a perverse humour in it. Nowadays? She still sort of did. But human beings were suffering, and what was the basis of her personal philosophy if not compassion? Just had to keep reminding herself that, before her instincts got the better of her.

Not that any of it mattered in the moment. Heather had stuff to stow in her locker, and classes to attend. Can't fix the world without bettering herself first, unfortunately.

[Heather Klein, out]

[SharkyTGirl185]

Meghan sees Heather depart, and her smile goes into an annoyed grimace.

Cops. real people

Tch. Fine.

Meggy took a deep sigh, adjusting the stack of papers on her hands as she turns and walked away from the Mazda “Spread the good word!”

Sometimes it was like. Attempting to appease every human on Earth. Some people just find it annoying, she can accept that. She can accept the annoyance. She can accept decrying the assholes in police badges who abuse their authority, hell, she’s decrying them as well. And hell, she’ll even support ideas to restructure the institution and reform it.

But, Christ. She can really not deal with the condescension with some people. She wasn’t the “cop girl.” She’s the girl who likes video games, who likes photography, who likes hibiscus tea and dulce de leche. And she simply wanted to improve the world. But seems like everyone in school can only see her as a badge. A scapegoat for everyone to laugh to and decry as just another cog in a machine.

She expected Heather to look past politics, and just see her as a person and not just as a badge.

But considering who she is, that was a dream. She sighed as she kept walking.

Ah well. She can’t help it, we’re all still young and passionate. Reality will wake us all up soon. We have a role in society, we just gotta play it.

That’s all she’ll tell herself

((Meghan “Meggy” Roberts continued elsewhere…))

[ViolentMedic]

Finn raised a hand, wiggling his fingers in a sarcastic wave to match Marcy’s as he climbed out of the car.

Heather had made her way out real quick. Meggy had only lingered long enough to frown a little and say ‘spread the good word’ again, which did not work well as a comeback the second time. Both were gone by the time he reached Marcy, only to wrap an arm around her shoulders and lean on her a little.

“Please shoot me if I ever start wearing the old man’s badge,” Finn said. There was not a trace of sarcasm in his tone.

Would be nice to stay out here with Marcy a little longer. But detention before a racing night would be a problem.

[Fiori]

Marcy kept her insincere smile up right until Heather and Meggy were gone, dropping it the instant they were out of sight. "Uuagh... God, I fucking hate her."

After all that, they had parted ways somewhat amicably. Way too fucking amicably for her liking. There was still a lot of pent up anger from the shit they kept spewing about her darling Finn, bubbling away beneath the surface as she tried to keep a straight face.

She gave her boyfriend's hand a possessive squeeze, cheek slumping against his chest to nuzzle away some more. Screw 'em. No way in hell that Meggy could ever make Heather feel the way she felt about her Finn... Or vice versa, for that matter.

"Mmm... Ditto~" she replied, not that either of them were ever going to lose sight of what was important. They were kindred spirits, rebels against an unjust and uncaring world, destined to give everyone the finger as they rode into the sunset together.

"Oh, shit, we're running late!"

((Marcy Valerio continued in live good, east coast, west coast, worldwide))
((Finn Cooper continued in The Real Skyline Heights))